Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection - March 23, 2025

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” That’s great advice, but how do we know when we are hearing God’s voice. It’s probably not coming to us from a burning bush or from a cloud. It might come through our families, friends, neighbors, priests, or teachers. However, sometimes it comes to us unexpectedly from surprising sources. We’re happy to call any voice, “God’s voice” when it agrees with our own plan for our lives. The problem arises when God’s voice is trying to lead us in a completely different direction. That’s when our hearts get hard and the grumbling begins.

The Israelites are master grumblers. They started grumbling against Moses in Egypt and continued in the desert. Remember, this is the man who parted the sea so that they could walk through it on dry land. Yet, they grumbled against him. They were grumbling because they thought that they had a better plan than God. In their minds, there were only two possibilities: dying reasonably comfortably in Egypt or dying somewhat painfully in the desert. They rejected God’s voice and hardened their hearts.

Opening our hearts takes a great deal of faith. Faith is built on trust. We must trust that God has a plan and that the plan is the absolute best thing for us. We truly must surrender to the voice that spells out God’s plan because our plan could never be as perfect as His plan. Each day, we face the pressures of family, finances and faith. We complain and grumble when our lives are different from our expectations. We like our plan. It makes sense to us. It’s comfortable. On the other hand, God’s voice can come to us unexpectedly. It can be disruptive and make us uncomfortable. It can seem crazy and be frustrating because it moves us in a new direction.

Yet, we must always search for, and be open to, God’s voice. It comes to us from both expected and surprising sources. Sometimes it confirms what we are thinking; sometimes it challenges us to think differently. We must listen for it, discern it carefully, be open to it (even if it’s uncomfortable), and then act on it. One thing is certain, whenever and wherever we hear God’s voice we must not harden our hearts.

Fr. Mike